In 1993 Martha Wong was the first Asian American elected to the Houston City Council, and in 2003, she became the first Asian American woman elected to the Texas Legislature. In this interview, Martha answers questions about her career and her life...

Governor Mark White came in very tough economic times. As Governor, he regulated the utility industry and cut the price of electricity. He raised taxes twice, to save schools, building roads and to provide services to people. He also raised the...

David Goldstein and Jill Jewitt interview former Mayor Louie Welch. Louie served as Mayor of the city of Houston from 1964 to 1973. Prior to that he served on the City council from 1950 to 1952, and then again from 1956 to 1962.

In this interview from 1975, Louie Welch discusses his history as a politician in Houston. He began his career as a council member and served under Mayors Oscar Holcombe and Lewis Cutrer. Welch was then elected as Mayor to the City of Houston first...

Born in Lenders, Texas, Truett Latimer entered the insurance business in Abilene, Texas after graduation till 1955. During that time, he won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives, and was elected four times as a State Representative. He...

Eleanor Tinsley talks about her years as president of the board of the Houston Independent School District, and as member of the city council.
She was involved in the school integration movement and was instrumental in the creation of the Houston...

Roy Soliz was born in Houston where he graduated from Jefferson Davis High School and attended the University of Houston before fighting briefly in World War II. He was a well-known civic activist in the Hispanic, Mexican American, and Chicano...

A successful Banker and a top graduate from Stanford Business School, Marc Shapiro was the President and Chief Executive of the Texas Commerce Bank. He retired in 2003 as Vice Chairman for finance and risk management at JP Morgan Chase & Co. He is...

Born in Houston, Peter Roussel followed his parents' footsteps in becoming a journalist. He worked as a Press spokeman for several Presidents and Secretary of State. After moving to Houston from Washington, he became a TV-Radio commentator and...

Letter from NAACP Special Counsel, dated October 8, 1937, to C. F. Richardson with acknowledgment and thanks for the marked copy of the October 2nd issue of the Houston Defender. The NAACP Counsel also asks that he be kept advised of the progress...

Frances "Poppy" Northcutt is interviewed by Suzanne Mascola. Frances discusses her career working for a NASA contractor, the Apollo 8, NASA, her work as a women's rights advocate; and her career as a lawyer.

Richard Joel "Nick" Noriega was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1998. Since then he has served 5 terms in this capacity. During hurricane Katrina Mayor Bill White requested his help to oversee the evacuee shelter operations...

Letter from Charles Houston, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Special Counsel, to C. F. Richardson, Sr., dated October 22, 1937. Houston acknowledges that he has received Richardson's letter from October 16th regarding a...

Letter from C. F. Richardson, Sr. to Charles Houston, Special Counsel NAACP, regarding a proposed scholarship aid bill that Richardson and others are working on getting presented to the Texas legislature. The NAACP chapters in Dallas, San Antonio,...

Tatcho Mindiola, director of the Mexican American Studies program at the University of Houston, describes race relations in Houston in the 1950s and 1960s, and talks about his career as a community activist.